If I send them an email, it will say nothing of the kind. Being based in England doesn't mean they will take any more care with the source material than a developer operating from Argentina, or Turkmenistan.

Pfah, what could possibly go wrong? Don't you want to play as Osse-worshipping dwarves trying to finalise a marriage-alliance with the Ents in order to fend off the invasion of Morgoth's sorcerous eagles?

It's not an uninteresting idea in principle. But the Total War idea of changing history doesn't sit well with a narrative like LotR - or worse, the Silmarillion! What good is the First Age when you get to throw out all the Wars of the Jewels and write your own? It just becomes Generic Fantasyland: The Battlefield.